Ayrshire development sues over ‘inequitable’ enforcement of rules

MICHAEL REED

Published 7:00 pm, Tuesday, September 26, 2006

The Braeswood Place Homeowners Association and 89 residents of the neighborhood have been named in a lawsuit that claims inconsistent enforcement of its two-story height and minimum lot size requirements has rendered the guidelines “inequitable” in the eyes of the law.

Filed in Judicial District 281 by the owner of Academy townhouses, the suit claims construction on the property along the east side of Academy Street in the Ayrshire subdivision was improperly halted in June by the city of Houston as a result.

“Here there are at least seven violations out of the 79 lots in Ayrshire Section 1 not owned by Academy of the height restrictions and at least 10 violations of the minimum lot size requirement,” court documents said.

Lawyers for Harry Klein, president of Academy, said Klein spent “an extensive period of time” planning the project with the assistance of the homeowners association and its architectural control committee before agreeing to build 25 rather than the initially proposed 40 units.

In addition to the seven residential height infractions cited as “obvious based on external inspection,” the suit claims there are likely other completed homes in violation.

“The BPHA’s interpretation of the restrictions has been that so long as a residential structure has the exterior appearance of two stories, the number of levels of habitable space inside is not relevant,” the suit said.

Academy further said the association did not require minimum square footage when the property’s five lots were replatted to townhouse lots.

Later, however, a minimum front width at the street and a total of an 8,775-square-foot rule were enforced.

“Not only are all 25 lots smaller than these requirements, but 10 other tracts within the subdivision are also,” the plaintiff said.

The suit asks that the two-story requirement be ruled “unenforceable because it is ambiguous,” that “story” be defined as a horizontal division of a building’s exterior and height and lot-size restrictions be waived because of “a series of violations.”

It also asks for attorney’s fees and other relief as demonstrated by the plaintiff.